Nanuk: The Story Behind Naga
by 7SheWolfShaman7
Summary: Polar bear dogs have been hunted for centuries in the Southern Water Tribe, so how did Naga come to be the animal guide of Avatar Korra? Korra has kept the secret hidden since her childhood, but now she confides in her closest friends. What will the story reveal? How did Korra come to be friends with Naga? What is Naga's story? Rated T just to be safe.
1. Part 1

**(A/N) Okay, so I wrote this story awhile ago but never posted it. I thought I'd try posting it on here, since I think it should be given the chance. Please review, please!**

* * *

_**Part 1**_

_(Korra's Point of View)_

"Hey Korra?" asked Mako, suddenly. We were all in the dining room of the air bending temple, eating dinner together.

"Yeah?" I asked, twirling a mouthful of noodles into my mouth with the chopsticks.

"Well, I've been wondering something. I'm surprised none of us has ever asked you before, but where did you get Naga?" Mako said. This caught my attention.

Bolin, Asami, Pema, Tenzin, and Jinora all looked up from their plates. Ikki and Meelo got excited, sensing a story was coming. I sighed.

"It's not something I usually like to talk about, but you guys are my best friends, so I'll tell you," I replied. Then I began to tell the story.

* * *

When I was seven, I ran away. It was all just too much to deal with for a little girl. My parents were always busy. I couldn't even live with them! The White Lotus kept me prisoner at that stupid training building. My dad was busy helping my uncle, chief of the tribe, with all the important duties, so I rarely saw him. My mother would make time to come visit me, but all I wanted was to be able to live with them, so we could always be together. My water bending training was also stressful, because Katara, the master who taught me, would tell me of the things Avatar Aang had done. I felt so much pressure because I was the one who had to fill his shoes.

So one day, I just ran away. I ran off onto the tundra. I ran as fast as I could in the dead of night. I continued walking for a day, finally collapsing from sheer exhaustion at the bottom of a small hill. There I found a shallow den. I could tell it was abandoned because there was no animal smell or scratch marks of the creature renovating the burrow entrance. I knew it would keep me warm by shielding my body from the wind. I crawled inside, and fell fast asleep. It felt like I had only been asleep for a few minutes. I opened my eyes, realizing that it was still night. I crawled to the burrow entrance and there I saw something beautiful. The normally black night sky was alive with shimmering lights of all different colors. I had seen it before, back inside the tribe's gates. But tonight they seemed brighter, more vibrant. I watched them until they put me back to sleep.

When I got back outside the next day, I walked to the top of the hill that the den was built in. Then I got the shock of a lifetime when I saw another hill with a den just twenty yards away. And coming out of the den was a large female polar bear dog with two cubs.

* * *

"Wow! That sounds intense!" shouted Bolin.

"Believe me, I was scared!" I said. "I was only a seven-year-old girl going up against a fifteen hundred pound polar bear dog."

"Wow! A polar bear dog! Was it roaring at you? Was it chasing you everywhere?" asked Ikki with excited, all in one breath.

"Let her get back to the story Ikki," said Pema.

"What happened next wasn't quite what I thought would happen," I continued.

* * *

This isn't good! I thought. I knew that the most dangerous animal was a mother polar bear dog protecting her cubs. I had heard countless stories from the kids in the tribe about how they knew people who had been killed by mother polar bear dogs. My father said that if a mother polar bear dog thought her cubs were in danger, she would give her life to protect them. Dad said that when a mother gives her life for her cubs, it is a very noble thing, and you must respect the animal because of it. But it also means that these animals are very dangerous. That's why my tribe has hunted polar bear dogs for centuries.

Then I saw the cubs playing. They were tumbling over each other, nipping the top of the other's neck, and play fighting. I so mesmerized me that I didn't realize that I had stood up to get a better look until it was too late. The mother saw me. Now she was up and running my way.

I tried to run, but I fell over on my back. I looked up and saw the mother bearing down on me. A scream escaped my lips, and I closed my eyes, waiting for her teeth to tear into my flesh.

But nothing happened. I opened my eyes to see the mother polar bear dog standing over me. She was looking down at my face, and then she gave me a big lick. I pondered this strange behavior.

"Of course!" I whispered to myself, realizing her reason. It wasn't strange behavior at all. It was in the very nature of the polar bear dog.

My father had told me a story of a hunting trip he went on where he saw two polar bear dogs. Dad said that polar bear dogs were normally solitary animals except for mothers with cubs, but every now and then two would run into each other, like the two he saw. If one polar bear dog knows he can't win in a fight against the other, then he rolls onto his back and shows his soft belly. The other polar bear dog would not attack, for this was the white flag of defeat. Something else Dad told me was that a female polar bear dog would never attack a cub of any species unless she was hunting them or her own cubs were in peril.

I had shown her my belly when I fell over on my back. I was also a "cub" of sorts. That's why she didn't attack me.

I crawled over the hill again. The cubs were still playing, undaunted by their mother's short absence. They looked about two months old. Right now they were still balls of fluff that spent every waking minute playing. I crept closer. The mother acted like she didn't notice, so I crawled straight up to the cubs. She paid no mind.

* * *

"So the mother let you go right up to the cubs?" asked Asami. I nodded. "That is so cool!"

"It gets better."

* * *

The cubs seemed fearless. They apparently had never seen such a predator as a human, so they were unafraid. They ran up to me, seeing a new playmate. They jumped on top of me, wrestled with me, and play fought with me just like they did each other. We tumbled around together all day, with the mother's vigilant eyes watching our every move.

At the end of the day, as the sun was setting, the mother gave a grunt-bark call to the cubs. Judging by their quick reaction and them running back to the den, I guessed this was the call to come home. I got up to leave, when suddenly the mother gave the call again. I looked around for the cubs. They were already inside. She was calling me.

That night I slept with them in the den. It was very warm, because I was cuddled up inside the mother's soft fur, next to her warm body. I decided to call her Nanuk, for the White Spirit of the Poles that takes on the shape of a white bear. The two cubs were male. I decided to call the larger, more reserved cub, Liwanu. It means "growl of the bear". I named him that because he would always growl loudly while playing. I named the smaller, feistier cub, Kitchi.

The next morning I decided to go home. I hadn't realized how hungry I was, so I hurried home. I finally made it back that night, only to find my mother waiting at the village gates.

"Oh, Korra!" she cried, breaking into a run when she saw me coming. She picked me up in a big embrace, letting out a choked sob. "Korra, where have you been?" she said when she finally put me down.

"I ran away, but I decided to come back. I hated living away from you. I couldn't take it anymore," I told her, not saying anything about Nanuk and the cubs.

"Don't worry. You're staying with us. We won't let them take you away from us again."

"Where's Dad?" I asked, wondering why he wasn't there with us, too.

"He and the other men of the tribe have been out looking for you since you disappeared. They should be back any minute. I was waiting at the gate to see if they had found you," she said, pulling me into another embrace.

That night, I lay awake in my bed back at my parents' house, thinking about my new friends. I knew that I couldn't tell anyone in the village about them, or where they lived. Not even my own parents. If just one person found out, then everyone would soon know. Then a hunter would know where to hunt for his next kill.

* * *

"So you never told anyone?" asked Mako.

"Not for awhile anyway," I answered.

"Wait a second. Korra, none of those three polar bear dogs were Naga. When does she come in?" asked Bolin.

"You'll have to listen to the story to find out."

* * *

I often visited Nanuk and the cubs. They always greeted me with the same enthusiastic shower of licks and whines. The cubs would invite me for a game of tag, or play fighting. But I found that as the months went on, they would get rougher and rougher with their play. They were getting bigger and stronger, and when they were a year old- half grown- I couldn't play with them anymore. They were just too big.

Then winter came again, and I knew I wouldn't be able to find them. In the winter, a polar bear dog wanders far out onto the ice where they can catch more seals and penguins. I waited in the village for them to come back. I would have been bored silly if I didn't have bending practice everyday. I had finally mastered water bending, and now I had just started earth bending.

At the end of winter, I started visiting Nanuk and the cubs again. Every time I went to see them, the cubs were a bit bigger, until they were nearly as big as Nanuk. Then one day, at the end of autumn, I was going for my last visit with Nanuk before she and the cubs left for the winter life on the ice, when I stopped in my tracks, dumbstruck.

Nanuk was there, but Liwanu and Kitchi were gone. I was afraid that a hunter had discovered the den and killed them, but there was no blood anywhere. Then I realized that the reason they were gone was Nanuk. Liwanu and Kitchi were nearly two now, and they had to leave and be on their own. Nanuk had driven them off. Liwanu and Kitchi would probably stick together for a few months or a year so they could help each other survive, but then they would go their separate ways, taking up the life of the solitary polar bear dog. Now, during the winter, Nanuk would have more cubs.

* * *

**(A/N) Okay, this is partly educational, and I used mostly real facts for dogs and polar bears. So, what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Not interested? Please review!**


	2. Part 2

**(A/N) I think I forgot to mention that this is a three-part story with a shorter epilogue… sorry, I probably should have told you that before… my bad! Well, here's part two!**

* * *

_**Part 2**_

"How did you feel when Liwanu and Kitchi were gone?" asked Jinora.

"Well, they were like brothers to me, but I knew I probably wouldn't see them again. So I tried to let them go. Then Nanuk had more cubs."

* * *

I was now nine years old. It had been two years since I first met Nanuk, and she and I were very close. I stumbled off on another trip to see Nanuk. It was the first visit since Autumn, and I was excited to see her, especially since she would have new cubs.

I walked over the crest of the hill, and I saw Nanuk outside with three new puff balls. The cubs! I raced over to them, accidentally scaring them back to their mother. I sat down next to Nanuk, stroking her neck.

"Oh, Nanuk!" I exclaimed. "They're beautiful! Three healthy, strong, fat cubs!" If they were fat, that meant that they were well fed, and that Nanuk was a good provider for them.

The largest cub, a male that I decided to name Mahkah, was a confident boy who led his siblings with dignity. Then there was the second largest, a female named Cha'Risa, who loved to play all day without a moment's rest. The smallest was a female named Jaci. She was timid at first but she grew to be my favorite out of all the cubs, for she was deeply in tune with my moods. If I was sad, she would jump on me and lick my face. If I was happy, she and I would wrestle. If I was lonely, she would lay against me. She was a good friend, but I had to distance myself. I couldn't get attached to the cubs, or we would all be depressed after they had to leave their mother. Just like with Liwanu and Kitchi.

The difference in size for each cub was only a few ounces. That first day I saw them, they were about the size of a four-month-old puppy. But they grew swiftly. Every time I visited, they would be bigger than last time. By the end of Autumn, they were half their mother's size, and I could no longer play with them. Once again, the cubs were too strong for me.

The next year went by rapidly, and the cubs continued to grow. I knew the time was coming for them to leave their mother's side, and fend for themselves. That day arrived in the middle of Autumn that year. I walked upon the den to find Nanuk alone. Mahkah, Cha'Risa, and Jaci were gone. And they weren't coming back.

* * *

"So you spent this much time with Nanuk- four years- and Naga still hasn't come up?" asked Bolin sarcastically.

"If I'm to tell a story, I have to tell it from the beginning. Now listen," I retorted.

* * *

It was time for me to see the new cubs, and I hurried off to the den sight. This was the third litter of cubs I would see. I was now eleven, and had been friends with Nanuk for four years.

I climbed over the crest of the hill, and ran down to the den. I was surprised to see that she hadn't yet come outside. It was already morning. Most animals get up at the crack of dawn.

I peeked down into the den. I could hear her labored breathing, and when she heard my footsteps, she gave a call that I had only heard her give for me. I had learned that Nanuk had a different call for each cub, including me. It was like a name. When I heard her give that call, I went down inside the den, knowing she was calling me.

"Nanuk, what's wrong? Are you okay?" I asked in a soothing voice. She only groaned. I looked farther down into the den, but I could see no cubs. Had they died? I wondered.

"It's okay Nanuk. You're going to be okay." I placed my hand gingerly on her stomach, then ripped it back. Nanuk was having contractions! She was giving birth to her cubs now! This worried me, for it was late for the cubs to just be born, and that sometimes means the cubs are deformed or they might get sick and die. They might even be stillborn.

"I'm here for you Nanuk," I told her. I wouldn't leave her side until the cubs were born. I knew I couldn't help her with it. I had watched my friend's dog give birth, and no one had helped her. Animals can do these things on their own. Nanuk didn't need my help.

However, she did need my presence. She wanted me to be here to support her through this stressful situation. So I sat down next to her, petting her back as she began pushing. First seconds went by. Then minutes. Then hours. I began worrying. Then, suddenly, I heard a growl-cry, and then Nanuk was up and cleaning her cub.

* * *

"Wow! Nanuk trusted you so much that she let you near her while she was in labor?" asked Asami.

"She didn't just let me stay with her, she wanted me to be with her," I replied. "We had spent four years together at that point. She was my very best friend. And then the new cubs were born. It all became … different. They were so much more like Nanuk than any of the other cubs I had seen her raise."

* * *

After the first cub came, I was far more at ease, and so was Nanuk. The cub was a large, healthy male. Some cubs, when they are born, don't move much. These cubs are usually very weak, and they die very soon. This male was quite lively, and before Nanuk was done cleaning him with her slippery tongue, he was at her belly and suckling vigorously. Nanuk and I knew he would be fine.

There was another reason why it was good that the cub was nursing. My mom had told me that nursing helps the mother to continue labor. And Nanuk needed all the help she could get, because she was still giving birth.

I watched the little cub suckle as his mother continued her pushing. He was very noisy, even for a cub. He seemed to almost be singing as he cuddled up to his mother, trying to share her warmth. I continued looking at him for the next four hours. Man, I thought, this is taking a long time.

Then, suddenly, Nanuk was up. I heard her give a soft groan as she gave one last, momentous push. And there was one more little cub, an average-sized female. Nanuk started licking her clean with the same vigor as she had for the male cub.

"Oh, these two are precious," I whispered to Nanuk, and she gazed at her cubs with a look full of love. A minute later the two cubs, seeming to sense my presence, wobbled on there spindly legs over to me. Then, I knew, these two were different from all the other cubs, even Jaci. They showed the same love for me as their mother.

"I'll never be separated from you two. Never," I promised myself and the cubs. I would not let them be separated from me as the others had, even if I had to search the entire South Pole for them after they left Nanuk.

I decided to stay with Nanuk and the cubs tonight. My parents didn't expect me until the next morning anyway. I had told them I was going camping with my friend's family. I wanted some extra time with Nanuk after the long winter. That night, I cuddled up to Nanuk for her warmth as I thought of names for the two cubs. I would name the male, Shilah. Shilah was a name of the Southern Water Tribe, meaning "brother". The female, I decided, I would name, Naga.

* * *

"Yaaaaay!" yelled Ikki and Meelo. "It's Naga!"

"Yes, yes. That small cub that I was with the day she was born was Naga." I told them. Then I noticed something. "Hey, where's Mako?" I had been so caught up in the story that I had let his absence go amiss.

"Here I am!" I heard him call from the doorway. "I thought she should be here to hear you tell the rest of the story," I heard him say, and Naga walked alongside him into the room.

"Hey girl!" I exclaimed as she lay down at my feet.

"But that's not all," he said, and I became suspicious at the tone in his voice that suggested a surprise.

"What are you talking about," I questioned.

"Him!" he said pointing to the doorway and giving a piercing whistle. And in ran a fully grown polar bear dog.

"Wow! Where did you get him?" I asked Mako, laughing as the young male polar bear dog showered me with kisses.

"His name is Kohana," Mako began. "He's your dad's polar bear dog."

"Really?" I could not hide the tone of surprise in my voice. This was strange me. My dad had never shown any special liking to Naga. Well, he did like her, but not the way I loved her.

"A few days ago, I got this letter from your parents," he said, and handed me the a folded piece of paper tied off with a piece of rawhide string.

I began to read the letter out loud:

Dear Mako,

We have a surprise for Korra and Naga, but we need your help. First though, let us explain. About a week after Korra left the South Pole to train with Tenzin in Republic City, Korra's father went out on a hunting trip with the men from the tribe. Out on the tundra, they found a one-year-old polar bear dog cub sitting next to his dead mother. The mother must have been killed by a polar leopard. Korra's father took home the cub, and he gave him the name Kohana, which means "swift". He runs faster than any animal we've ever seen. For the past year, he's been pulling sleds for us.

We've decided that Korra and Naga might like a new friend. In a few days, Kohana will be arriving on a freight ship. We would be grateful if you would pick him up and take him back to Air Temple Island, Mako. You can surprise Korra with him. Thank you!

"This is kind of why I wanted to know where Naga came from," Mako said after I had finished reading, scratching his head.

"This is great! Thank you!" I said, throwing my arms around Mako.

"Hey, your parents did all the work. I'm just the delivery boy," he said with a smile. Everyone then got up, picking up their jackets and bags.

"Where are you all going?" I asked.

"Home," they all said in unison, perplexed.

"But the story's not over yet." My voice was mournful, sad, and longing.

* * *

**(A/N) Wow its up! Yes! So, what'd you guys think? Let me know and please review! That's part two, and part three will be coming soon.**

**P.S. All of the names in this story, except for the ones the show came up with, are Native American names. I chose the names very carefully, and I hope they fit in well with the story!**


	3. Part 3

**(A/N) The big scene coming up!**

**Disclaimer: I own this plot, and these polar bear dogs, but Nickelodeon may take credit for the rest of it. Not for long though! I will buy the show!**

* * *

_**Part 3**_

"It's not over?" asked Bolin, a confused look on his face.

"No. There's still more to tell."

* * *

I went to see Nanuk, Shilah, and Naga again four weeks later. I told my parents I was on another camping trip, and this time I would be gone for two days. I packed enough food for a week though, just in case a storm rolled in. The weather was unpredictable, and if a blizzard started, you could be stranded for many days.

Even though it was Spring, there was still snow on the ground. The difference between winter and spring is that there is about a foot less of snow, and the sea ice has broken up, making seal hunting harder for polar bear dogs and humans alike. They didn't hybernate during winter, but they probably should during spring, given how hard it is for them to hunt seals in open water.

The cubs were outside for the first time today, and they were playing, of course, the classic cub game of play-fighting. Well, they're going to need that skill someday. Shilah will need to be able to fight for a mate. Naga may need those skills to defend her cubs someday. This would be good practice.

The cubs saw me, and came over to me. They started climbing all over me, licking my face. Then Shilah grabbed my lunch sack from my back.

"Hey! You get back here!" I protested. He wasn't eating solids yet, so he seemed to only be trying to get on my nerves. "Okay, I'll play along," I said, and shot after him. He quickly bolted this way and that. Every time I was about to catch up to him, he would make a sharp turn, leaving me behind.

"Okay, you win!" I told him as I plopped down, exhausted. As I tried to catch my breath, Shilah came up to me and dropped the sack on my lap. Naga ran up to me and they both started licking my face. "Thanks! You guys are such goofballs!" I said, giggling.

I walked up to Nanuk with my lunch sack. I had plenty of food. Nanuk deserved a little bit of my blubber seal jerky. I emptied the contents of my pouch in front of her, and she quickly polished off the entire pile.

I turn around to see Shilah and Naga looking up at me. And for the first time, I got a good look at their eyes. Most polar bear dogs have dark brown or black eyes, like Nanuk. However, that's not the case for either of the two cubs. Shilah's eyes are the same shade of blue as thick ice, almost white. Naga's are a rich dark blue, the color of the ocean. Both of them has eyes that were intelligent and soulful. And full of love, just like Nanuk's.

I laid down against Nanuk, and Shilah and Naga crawled on top of me. Both cubs curled up and fell asleep in my lap. As I lay there, watching the setting sun, I thought about how I was so fortunate to have this relationship. More than that, I felt an overpowering love for these three animals. That's because they were more than just animals, more than just polar bear dogs. They were family.

But it wasn't meant to last.

* * *

"What do you mean?" asked Bolin. Then tears filled my eyes and ran down my face. I began to sob.

"Korra, if it upsets you so much, maybe we should just stop now," Mako told me, his voice filled with concern. I looked at Naga, and her sad gaze at me told me that she knew what we were talking about. Naga remembered that wretched day just as well as I did. Then here gaze strengthened, she sat up taller, and her eyes told me to tell them.

"No," I said. "You have to know. Naga and I want you to know."

* * *

I was on my way to the den sight about a week later. It was a bright, sunny day. Just like any other time I went to see Nanuk and the cubs. But I would mark that day in my mind forever. I would never forget.

I decided to take a different, longer route to the den today. I wanted to look over the cliffs before I went for my visit, so I got there later than I normally would. That was my first mistake. I saw the hill that lay about three hundred yards away from the hill that the den was in. Those three hundred yards of land were flat, so I was able to see the den from where I stood.

Then I had the sense that something was wrong. The loud cries of the passing arctic raven vultures were absent today. It was all just too quiet. Before I got to the top of the hill, the shrill sound I heard sent fear ripping through me. I knew that sound. I had heard it many times when my father took my seal hunting. It was the joyous laughter of the hunter who hit what he was aiming for. This laugh meant something had just died.

I ran over the crest of the hill and what I saw shocked me so much that I nearly toppled over. About ten feet away from the den lay Nanuk. A spear was sticking out of her side, and even from so far away I could see the pool of blood that wet the ground around her. She was dead. I looked farther to the left and saw the still-laughing man. He was about one hundred yards from where Nanuk lay. Then I saw it, he had another spear. And next to the body of Nanuk sat her trembling cubs, Shilah and Naga, completely vulnerable. I could see his intent. He wanted to go home with more than one prize. I bolted to where the helpless cubs sat. My second mistake was not bending at him.

I knew I was too late when I saw the spear flying through the air, but I didn't stop running. The spear flew in slow motion, and through every beat of my heart I watched it go. The spear buried itself into Shilah's chest. He twitched once, gave a shattering gasp, and fell to the ground. I finally got to Naga, and I roughly pushed her underground into the den. I knew he hadn't seen me, and he probably hadn't seen Naga either. The man came walking up to the two bodies.

"No, you won't take them. I won't let you take them with you," I whispered to myself. I let out a loud roar. It was the imitation roar of the white polar leopard when it's mad. My father taught me how to do it. With that, the man ran away in terror, sure that he was about to be attacked. I carried Naga out of the den a few minutes later.

"No!" I collapsed to the ground, burying my head in the bodies of Nanuk and Shilah.

"Oh Nanuk," I whispered. Nanuk, my second mother. My first real friend. The best friend I've ever had. "You're gone. And you're not coming back." The tears ran down my pale face like a river, and landed on her fur. Then I turned to Shilah.

I picked up the limp cub gently, placing him gingerly underneath the giant paw and leg of his mother. He lay there now, in the grasp of Nanuk.

"There, Nanuk will protect you," I whispered. "That man broke the rule of the Southern Water Tribe hunters. You never kill a baby animal, for that animal needs the chance to grow up and make new cubs. You never had a chance Shilah. I'm sorry."

I felt my breathing get harder, and I fell back onto the ground staring at them. I looked at my own hands, now covered in blood. The entire area was coated in the lifeblood of these animals. A pure, white world stained red.

"Why?!" I screamed. "Why did it have to be you?! Nanuk, you were a great mother, until the very end. Shilah, you were the best brother I could have asked for. You two have always been my family. Nanuk, my second mother. Shilah, my little lunch bandit. You always loved to joke around!" I said, laughing a bit.

I've failed my promise to myself and Shilah. I told Shilah and Naga that we would never be separated. I've failed. Now Nanuk and Shilah are gone because of it. I put my hand into the pocket of my parka and pulled out my carving knife. I cut a swath of fur from Nanuk and Shilah, and I set to work weaving it into a small necklace. In this way, these two would always be close to me. Then I clutched them in a giant embrace. I stayed like this for hours.

At sunset, I got up and looked to Naga. There was no way she could survive out here when she was only just over a month old. I began to contemplate what to do. I wondered if I should leave her here and come back with food for her every day. But I quickly decided against it, since she needed someone to protect her. Poor Naga. She had lost her mother and her brother. She would never be able to hunt for herself without someone to teach her.

Now, Naga had approached the bodies of her beloved brother and mother. She whimpered pitifully, burying her face into the chest of Nanuk. She curled her body into Nanuk's fur, and she rested her head beside her brother's.

Suddenly, my eyes widened in wonder. She could come home with me! I would convince my parents to let her stay.

Naga looked up at me with a grief stricken gaze, and this hardened my resolve. I took of my spare coat, a long one that nearly touched the ground, and laid it over the bodies of my two greatest friends. It hid most of the blood, and it seemed as if they could be sleeping there. A young polar bear dog cub, curled up in his mother's loving and gentle embrace as he slept.

I picked up Naga to carry her home. Before I left, though. I turned my boots toward Nanuk and Shilah one last time.

"Good bye," I told them, then walked off toward home.

Night had already fallen, and then something amazed me. Above my head, flickering with all different colors and shades, were the Northern Lights. When I saw this, this amazing show of light, I knew that the world was paying tribute to the life of two fallen beings. I knew this for one simple reason: the Northern Lights only shine in the North Pole. The last time anyone ever saw these lights in the South Pole was after a beloved chief of the tribe died.

* * *

"Korra," Mako put his hand on my shoulder. "I know what it's like to lose your family. It's not something you forget." He lifted my chin so that I was looking him in the eye. "You carry it around with you forever. But that's not a bad thing." I looked puzzled.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Korra, if you forgot about the ones you love, it's like they never existed at all. That love keeps them alive. Forever. Never forget that Korra." And he pulled me into his embrace. Then everyone was up, wrapping their arms around me.

"Korra," began Bolin, "you didn't lose all of them." Then he pointed his gaze towards Naga. I went over to her and hugged her. In return, she licked my face, causing a laugh from me.

"No, I didn't. Naga and I have always been more than friends. We're sisters. Nothing will ever change that. Just like nothing will ever change the fact that Shilah is my brother, and Nanuk is my second mother. And I'm so grateful that I didn't lose Naga that day. Every time I look at her, I see the playfulness and joy of her brother. But even more than that, I see the strength and spirit of her great mother, Nanuk."

Naga gave me a big lick on the face. "But do you know who Nanuk and Shilah are now?"

The group and turned and looked at me. "What do you mean?" asked Asami.

"I went back to the den sight only one time. Exactly one year after Nanuk and Shilah died. I took Naga with me. We were going there to pay our respects. There was no sign that they were there. There were no bones or anything. I did, however, find my coat a little bit into the den. When I sat down and crawled inside the den with Naga, I found a piece of white fur. Then, I heard something. First I heard a bark, then a huff. I would never forget whose voice that was. It was Nanuk."

"What? How can that be?" asked a skeptical Tenzin.

"Tenzin, you know more of the spirit world than most people. You should know what it was. I quickly crawled to the den entrance, and there before me were the glowing forms of Nanuk and Shilah. They looked exactly like that did the day they were killed. Shilah hadn't aged a bit, although Naga was now half-grown. I looked at them and I knew who they had become. Nanuk, the mother I named for the great White Spirit of the Poles, along with her cub Shilah, had become the mother and cub spirits of the South Pole.

They looked at me strangely, not quite sure if they believed me.

"Some choose not to believe it, but I know who they are. Although now they are great spirits, I will always remember them for who they were in life. Shilah, the happy cub. Nanuk, the devoted, courageous mother." In truth, that's who they really are. They are extraordinary, because they had been ordinary.

There was a moment of quiet, which was broken by Bolin. "What did they do?" he asked.

"Shilah gave the bark that signaled playtime, and Naga bounced over to him, even though she was ten times his size. Before they played anything, Naga leaned against her lost brother. She rubbed up to him in affection. It's the polar bear dog's version of a long, painful but loving embrace," I told them.

"And Nanuk?" asked Mako.

"At first we just looked into each other's eyes, talking to each other in some unknown language." I paused. "Then I ran up to her in embrace, burying my face in her soft white, still warm, fur. And I thought back to that first night with her, five years ago. I had fallen asleep wrapped in her fur." I paused, thinking back to that moment with a genuine smile upon my lips. "Then she and Shilah faded away, and the warm fur was gone. Like they had never been there at all. But Naga and I know they were."

And no one could ever tell us differently. For that moment, when I had seen my long lost family, it was like I was just a little kid in the embrace of Nanuk. After that moment, I realized they were no longer lost to me. They were watching not just the creatures of the South Pole, but the people, too, and me.

Perhaps I'd be able to see them again soon.

* * *

**(A/N) Okay, that part where Korra puts Shilah with Nanuk, that was inspire by The Lion King. Hey, who else cried watching that movie? It's okay to admit it! I did, I cried! Well, anyway, that was Part III, and the Epilogue shall be coming soon! (Don't worry, it's very happy!) So, what'd you guys think about this? This is my take on where Naga came from, and it seems pretty realistic. Oh, and the way they died, that is actually a true story. Have you ever seen the show ****_Growing Up_**** on ****_Animal Planet_****? Well, it was the polar bear episode, and there was an orphaned cub. His mother was shot, then his brother before people came in and caught the poachers. Poor cub, but he grew up to be part of a Zoo program.**


	4. Epilogue

**(A/N) Last chapter in this small fan fiction. Enjoy, for this is where everything ties back together.**

* * *

_**Epilogue**_

It had been four months since that night. Kohana, our new polar bear dog, and Naga became fast friends. They even slept cuddled up together. Then, one day as I was running my hand down Naga's belly, I found out they were more than just friends. As my hand stroked her abdomen, I felt something move beneath it. I quickly ripped my hand back and stared at that spot. There was a series of small ripples. This sent me over the top with joy.

"Naga!" I shrieked, surprising her enough to make her jump to her feet. When she saw there was no danger, she relaxed. "Oh, Naga. You're pregnant! Actually, you're very pregnant." If I can feel the cubs kicking, that means they'll be coming soon.

I ran off to tell the others, but apparently I had yelled it so loud that they had heard me, given that they were all close outside. I went back to Naga.

"You look just like you're mother you know," I said to her. "Except for your eyes. Your eyes are all your own." We shared a look of love at each other. "Now you're to be a mother, yourself. She'd be proud if she were here right now."

"Congratulations, Korra!" Mako exclaimed, walking over to where I was.

"Thanks," I said looking at him, then I turned back to Naga. "She will be as great a mother as Nanuk. And she'll have just as much charisma as her brother. She has the best qualities of both, and her cubs will be the same."

"How are you so sure?" he asked.

"Knowing isn't just with facts you know. It's also what your heart tells you is true. I know that Nanuk's legacy will pass on."

"Korra," Mako said, and I turned to him. "Naga is Nanuk's legacy. And these cubs are the legacy of your story. Polar bear dogs will never be hunted again, and that's because of you. These cubs have nothing to fear, because of you," he said, and I kissed him.

* * *

The night I had waited for has now arrived. Naga's cubs were on their way. The others offered to help, or to just be there with us, but I denied them. Naga could do this, and I was to be the only one with her.

As her labor continued, Naga laid down to further assist her pushing. I found myself thinking back to the day Naga and Shilah were born. I had stayed with Nanuk to support her, just as I was doing for Naga. That day was one of the best days of my life. Even before I had named them, I knew I would have an unbreakable bond with Shilah and Naga. Not even in death had that bond been broken. Now Naga would become as great a mother as Nanuk, the Mother White Spirit of the Poles.

After an hour, the first cub arrived: a healthy male. Naga immediately got to work cleaning the blood and other fluids from his fur, and the cub began to suckle. One after another, more cubs were born. As each one came, I felt the white fur bracelet around my wrist. It was the necklace I'd made from Nanuk's and Shilah's fur. Since then, I'd converted the necklace into a bracelet. It brought me comfort as the cubs were born, and by the next morning, there were five cubs in all. Five! I had never heard of such a large litter. There were two male and three female.

The oldest male I named Machk. The younger male, I named Shilah, after my lost brother. The oldest female, I named Haki. The next female, I named Jaci, after the female cub that I haven't seen since she left Nanuk. The last female, I named Nanuk. Just like Naga, and just like Nanuk, these cubs would grow up to be fierce, fierce friends.

I picked up little Nanuk, her eyes closed as she slumbered peacefully. And, I thought, Nanuk's memory and legacy shall live on in this little, helpless yet strong cub.

I looked up at Naga. She laid there, looking wistfully at me, then her cub, and I knew Mako was right. Naga was Nanuk's legacy. This cub, this cub is the legacy of the story, though. The legacy of the story of Nanuk, mighty Spirit of the Poles.

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**(A/N) How was it, did you enjoy it? It was a short ride, but one full of thought. These are stories that actually happen on a day to day basis. I hope, that for those who have read this to the end, you know that animals have the same heart and soul as humans. Even those stories you hear about a mother cat dying while saving her kittens from a fire, or a guide dog who leads his owner out of a flooding street, those are the stories you have to listen to. It was a privilege to be the writer of a fiction version of one such story. Thank you for reading.**


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